Romance is in the air with this Persian love cake recipe. It is a delightful treat to enjoy during any season and super simple to make. I give you step-by-step instructions and helpful tips to create a perfectly moist, aromatic cake that everyone will adore.
This recipe is great for when you want a sophisticated dessert that isn’t complicated to bake. Serve it to celebrate something special or simply indulge in a luxurious-feeling treat. For more easy cake recipes, check out my olive oil cake, lemon pound cake, and poppy seed cake next!
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Almond Flour – be sure to purchase blanched almond flour, or finely ground almonds, and not almond meal which has some of the nut skins and is more coarse. Almond flour adds a sweeter flavor and fluffier texture.
All-Purpose Flour – all-purpose flour is best to balance the lightness of the almond flour for a delicious moist texture.
Butter – always use unsalted butter to ensure the cake is not too salty. Bring the butter to room temperature before adding to the recipe, as it is easiest to cream soft butter.
Lemon – you’ll need both lemon juice and lemon zest for this recipe. I suggest zesting the lemon first, then juice the lemon after for fresh lemon juice.
Rose Water – adds a floral aroma that brings this cake to life! To avoid overpowering the cake, be sure to only use the recommended amount of rose water.
Rose Petals – dried edible rose petals add a slightly sweet flavor and festive garnish to the top of the cake.
Pistachios – opt for raw, green, unsalted pistachios and finely chop them with a chef’s knife. Sprinkle on top as a garnish for a pop of color and extra nutty crunch.
How to Make Persian Love Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan with butter or baking spray and line with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and cardamom. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each egg.
4. Beat in the rose water. Then, scrape down the bowl, making sure to get the bottom and sides of the bowl.
5. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture.
6. Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth to the edges. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the warm cake onto a wire rack and cool completely.
7. In a medium mixing bowl, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and wet ingredients – lemon juice and water – until smooth. Place the cake, bottom side up on a cake stand or serving plate. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake.
8. Sprinkle with pistachios and rose petals. Store the cake covered for up to 4 days.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Make your own almond flour. If you don’t have almond flour, you can make your own by processing blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Just be sure that you don’t process for too long or you’ll make almond butter!
- Optional: use freshly ground cardamom. Fresh cardamom seeds offer much more flavor and fragrance than store-bought powdered cardamom. Use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to crush the seeds into a powder.
- Cool the cake completely before glazing. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before adding the glaze to prevent the glaze from running off the sides of the cake.
- Optional Variations. Add candied ginger as a garnish with the rose petals and pistachios for additional texture and a zing of spicy-sweet flavor. Additionally, if you can’t find rose water, orange blossom water works just as well!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftover pistachio rose cake will keep covered in an airtight container or cake container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The cake can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Persian Love Cake was named after the legend of a young Persian woman in Iran falling in love with a Persian prince. She baked a cake infused with rose water, spices, and a magical love potion to make him fall in love with her. Truth or lore, this cake will definitely have you falling in love with its delicious flavor and tender texture.
Absolutely! Swap lemon juice and lemon zest 1:1 with orange juice and orange zest for a slightly sweeter cake. Limes also work in a pinch but will have a slightly more bitter taste.
The most likely cause is overbaking. Bake the cake just until the toothpick comes out clean. If you’re worried about overbaking it and there are a few moist crumbs on the pick, that’s okay. You can pull it from the oven at that point and let it cool for 5 minutes longer before removing it from the pan.
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If you’ve tried this Persian love cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Persian Love Cake
Equipment
- 8″ round cake pan
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups almond flour (256g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened (170g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons rose water
For the Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (180g)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rosewater or cold water
- Chopped pistachios for garnish
- Dried rose petals for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 8-inch cake pan with butter or baking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and cardamom. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time scraping down the bowl between each egg. Beat in the rose water.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth to the edges.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
For the glaze:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth. Place the cake, bottom side up on a cake stand or serving plate. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake and sprinkle with pistachios and rose petals. Store cake covered for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Make your own almond flour. If you don’t have almond flour, you can make your own by processing blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Just be sure that you don’t process for too long or you’ll make almond butter!
- Optional: use freshly ground cardamom. Fresh cardamom seeds offer much more flavor and fragrance than store-bought powdered cardamom. Use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to crush the seeds into a powder.
- Cool the cake completely before glazing. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before adding the glaze to prevent the glaze from running off the sides of the cake.
- Optional Variations. Add candied ginger as a garnish with the rose petals and pistachios for additional texture and a zing of spicy-sweet flavor. Additionally, if you can’t find rose water, orange blossom water works just as well!
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